Anthony Joshua delivered one of the great nights in British boxing history by stopping Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko in the 11th round to be crowned IBF, WBA and IBO world heavyweight champion in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.

What was hailed as the biggest fight night staged in a British ring, watched by the largest crowd for a boxing show in Britain for 78 years, lived up to its billing.

It was a thrilling contest which saw both combatants clamber off the canvas seemingly on the verge of defeat and looks destined to be recalled as one of the great heavyweight title fights.

Joshua survived a knockdown for the first time in his professional career in the sixth round and looked close to surrendering his unbeaten record until his late bombardment forced the stoppage.

In a sensational fifth round, Joshua knocked down Klitschko only to end up hanging on desperately at the end of the round as the Ukrainian launched a remarkable comeback.

The veteran had even looked the more likely winner as he defied a 14-year age gap and was outboxing Joshua in the latter stages until the Briton produced a blistering finish to take his unbeaten record to 19 straight stoppage wins.

Both men had to dig deep and both looked close to exhaustion before the 27-year-old Joshua's youth, fitness and sheer power took over in a penultimate round that sent the huge crowd into ecstasy as two barrages sent Klitschko down.

Joseph Parker, who holds the WBO heavyweight belt, is very willing to face Joshua later in the year. Parker will return to the ring next Saturday in Auckland when he makes a voluntary defense against Romanian Razvan Cojanu.

"It was an exciting fight, I was excited to watch the fight and I was analysing what I could've done against both fighters," Parker told Fairfax Media. "It was great to see Joshua, he went through a bit of a hard time in the fight but good to see him come back strong and maintain his title and get the other one."

"I guess Joshua is the man to beat and he got off the canvas and showed heart but I think every fighter has things they have to work on, weaknesses and strengths so I feel like I have to get past this next fight and I look forward at sitting down and planning a fight with him in the future.

"I think with Joshua his team is going to sit down and analyse what they do right or wrong, I think he's still got a lot to work on, like myself, I've got a lot to work on myself. I think Klitschko looked great, 41 years old he looked in great shape, he's still got a lot of power. I feel like it could've been his fight but I guess the better man won on the day."